A Blossoming Rose
by DizzyPirate
Summary: When 19-year-old Ferb finally goes to confess his feelings to Vanessa, disaster strikes. Now the two will have to pick up the pieces as they learn what true love really means and how far they are willing to go to protect it. And each other.
1. A Cut Rose

I would just like to say that I hope you guys like this as it is not only my first fanfiction but also my first story period. Enjoy! =)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Phineas and Ferb or their characters. They belong to Dan Povenmire, Jeff "Swampy" Marsh and Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Chapter 1 ~ A Cut Rose

It was a sunny morning in Danville. Although most of the city wasn't quiet yet active, down in the suburbs, in a small house on Red Oak Rd., 19-year-old inventor Phineas Flynn was wide awake and running through his house like a madman. But for once, it wasn't because of another "Big Idea". No, on this particular morning, he was desperately trying to get ready for the romantic picnic lunch he had planned with Isabella, his girlfriend of 6 years. Now in all those, Phineas had certainly taken Isabella out on plenty of dates, but this one was extra special. That was because today was the day that after months of planning and talking things over with Isabella's mother, Phineas was going to finally pop the big question to her. "Ferb, have you seen the ring?", Phineas asked his brother from the top of the stairs. He watched as his brother pointed to his socks. "Oh yea. Thanks bro!" Phineas went back to his room and retrieved the engagement ring from his sock drawer, then gave their pet platypus a pat on the head. "See ya later Perry!", Phineas said with a smile on his face. "Wish me luck!" "Krkrkrkrkr," Perry responded with his signature chatter. "Thanks buddy!" With that, Phineas grabbed his keys and slid down the banister. With his hand on the door knob, he suddenly stopped and turned to look at his brother.

Him and Ferb had moved out of their parents home earlier that summer when they found this house a couple blocks away. It was only for rent, but the price was reasonable and it gave them the space they wanted, while not being too far from the nest. In the time since they had been on their own, the brothers had made it a priority to keep up their inventing streak, making modifications to the house as well as continuing to help out their friends and family not to mention a few paid jobs for the city and even Mayor Doofenshmirtz himself. By the time the mayor asked for their help adding a new wing to the Danville Museum of Natural History and thus invited them and their family to it's Grand Opening upon completion, their mother Linda finally had to admit to both herself and her daughter that Candace was in fact, not crazy. Not that she was still trying to bust her brothers. No, a month after graduating college, Candace and Jeremy had finally tied the knot after a three year engagement. Now, a year later, they were finally settled into their new life when they discovered that their first child was on it's way, which definitely kept them both occupied.

Suddenly, Phineas was brought out of his musings and back to them present. As he looked at Ferb sitting on the couch channel surfing, he suddenly felt bad that he was leaving his brother all alone for the day. Phineas knew that before too long, Perry would disappear for the day which would leave Ferb in an empty house. Phineas thought for a moment before an idea came to his mind. "Hey Ferb, I'm getting ready to head out now. Why don't you go visit Vanessa. After all, she's only a couple blocks away now." Sure enough, Ferb suddenly remembered his sister telling them that Vanessa had moved into the neighborhood a couple of years ago. Ferb had at one time wanted to visit her since she had long since broken up with the guy she had been dating. Monty, he thought was the name. But before he got a chance to go over, he heard that Vanessa had hooked back up with her high school boyfriend, Johnny. "I don't think I should go Phineas. After all, three's kind of a crowd, you know." Phineas looked at his brother for a moment with confused expression before saying, "I thought Candace told you. Vanessa broke up with Johnny a few months ago. This could be your chance to finally tell her how you feel." At that statement, Ferb instantly perked up and gave a nod of his head and a thumbs up to show his agreement. With that, Phineas gave a farewell to his brother and went out the door. After a few moments of thinking, Ferb decided to take a quick shower. After he got out and dried off, he grabbed a pen and piece of stationery paper from his desk drawer, sat down and wrote a short yet sweet note explaining the reason for his visit, along with his phone number, just in case Vanessa wasn't home. When he finished, he gave a quick check over his work and, deciding he was satisfied with it, placed the note neatly in an envelope and wrote her name on the front in beautiful, scrolled handwriting. Once he was finished, Ferb continued to get ready; brushing his hair and teeth, putting on a plain black t-shirt and a pair of dark purple jeans and spraying on some cologne. When he was ready, Ferb went to his closet and opened a small vault that was hidden in the closets back wall. This vault, like the one his brother had in his own room, was where Ferb kept his most treasured items. After searching the vault for a few moments, Ferb found the item he was looking for. A single, red rose. At first appearance, it wouldn't seem that unique to anyone who didn't know the story behind it.

You see, back about 7 years ago, during the summer when Ferb and his brother started their inventing streak to make every day count, they had taken a trip around the world with their friends in an attempt to make the longest day of the year even longer. While the trip should have been amazing all on it's own, it became even more so for Ferb. As they were leaving Tokyo after refueling their homemade jet plane, The Sun-Beater 3000, they were passing by the Tokyo Tower when suddenly, Vanessa came falling out of the sky and luckily landed right on the canopy of their cockpit. After opening the canopy so Vanessa could climb in, she had agreed to join them for the rest of their trip. From that moment on, the trip seemed to go pretty smoothly, minus a few technical bumps here and there. Eventually, they made their way to Paris. At that point, the Sun-Beater was coming apart so they decided to split up into groups to find the parts necessary to fix the plane just long enough to make it back to Danville safely. Just as Ferb had noticed that Vanessa had disappeared, she suddenly showed up riding a scooter. To his delight, she handed him a helmet and told him to hop on. Eventually, the pair had found themselves at the Eiffel Tower. This had thrilled Vanessa, since after all, that was where she had really wanted to go from the get go. But her happiness was short lived as it reminded her why she had to hitch a ride with a group of kids to get there. As they made their way to the top of the tower, Ferb noticed that change in Vanessa's mood and asked her what was wrong. "It's nothing," Vanessa had said. But when Ferb gave her a look that clearly said, "I'm listening," she hesitantly started. "Well." That was all it took. Before long Vanessa was pouring her heart out about how the day had started with her and her dad flying to Tokyo for what she had thought was going to be a happy vacation just the two of them so they could really do some father/daughter bonding, since he was always working. But that had come to a screeching halt at the top of the Tokyo Tower when she had discovered why her dad had chosen Tokyo instead of Paris, since that's where she **really** wanted to go. Work. Once again, her father was putting his work before her. And if that wasn't bad enough, his work was what had accidentally caused her to go flying off of the Tokyo Tower, which, had it not been for Ferb and his brother, she probably wouldn't have lived to tell about it. "I don't know, Ferb. I know he's my dad and I shouldn't blame him for being busy. It's just that...he always seems to put his work ahead of me. I just don't know what to do." Ferb thoughtfully replied, "Well sometimes if you love somebody, you have to meet them halfway." As Vanessa was thinking about what Ferb had just said, he noticed a small flower shop just a short distance off. As his own words came ringing back in his ears, Ferb knew what he was going to do. So without a word, he walked over and bought a single, perfect, red rose for Vanessa. But as fate would have it, just as he was returning, blossom in hand, Vanessa jumped off the railing and into a hover car with some guy Ferb didn't recognize. As the pair flew away, Ferb could hear Vanessa's sweet voice calling back, "Bye Ferb. Thanks for everything!"

That was 7 years ago. And for 7 years, Ferb had kept that rose with the intent of one day giving it to the woman he loved. He had made sure to preserve it, of course. That night, after the celebration of their success had come to an end and everyone else had gone to bed, Ferb had stayed up, working the whole night to make a solution that, when poured on the rose, would keep it young and in full bloom forever. A 'Fountain of Youth' for plants you could say. Well, now was his chance. His chance to finally give her the rose. His chance to finally confess his undying love to Vanessa Doofenshmirtz. The young woman who had stolen his heart when he was still young enough that people would say he was a little too young to even know what love was. But he wasn't. He hadn't been too young then, at the age of 12, and he was even less so now. With that thought on his mind and in his heart, Ferb took one last look in the mirror, ran a quick hand through his messy green hair, and headed downstairs. As he arrived at the bottom, he paused but a moment to grab his jacket and his keys and with that, he was gone. As he walked to his car, Ferb noted to himself that it was quiet a beautiful September day. Despite the fact that it was the start of jacket weather, the warmth of the sun of his face made him feel as though nothing could go wrong. Little did he know what would be awaiting him. As he drove down the street, Ferb suddenly became a bundle of nerves. Questions began to flood his mind. _Will she remember me? Will she want to see me? Will she still like me?_ One after another, the questions came, turning the usually cool and calm young man into a nervous wreck. Despite this, however, Ferb stayed true to his nature, not letting even the slightest hint that anything was bothering him, show on his features. Following the directions his sister had given him, Ferb was turning onto Chestnut Street within minutes, and a minute later, he arrived in front of Vanessa's house, noting to himself that a sleek, black car and an old motorcycle currently resided in the driveway. After parking and turning off the ignition, Ferb remained seated in his car, going over once again in his mind how he was going to greet Vanessa after all the time that had passed and then find a way to tell her how he felt. Finally, he decided that, though he still didn't know what he was going to say, it would probably be best if he made it to the door before she left. Coming to the conclusion that he would just have to wing it, Ferb got out of his car and casually walked up to the door and rang the bell. Nothing. For several minutes, Ferb stood waiting, absent-mindedly zipping up his jacket some to block the breeze of the now cooler end of summer day. _Perhaps she's not home,_ Ferb thought to himself. Just as he was about to leave the rose and note in the mailbox, he suddenly heard shouting coming from inside. Though normally, Ferb would never even think of eavesdropping, something in the tone of the voices made him stop in his tracks. One voice, he could tell immediately, belonged to Vanessa. The other, a man's, he couldn't recognize. Although he couldn't make out most of what was being said, he caught enough to piece together that whomever Vanessa was shouting at, she was breaking up with. Permanently. Feeling it was not his place to step in, Ferb was about to leave when he heard the sound of glass breaking, followed by a fearful scream from Vanessa. For Ferb, that was it. Realizing he couldn't leave, Ferb carefully tested the front door. Thankfully, it had been left unlocked. Quietly, Ferb entered the home. Once inside, he gave himself a moment to locate the direction the voices were coming from and realizing they were upstairs, placed the note and rose on a small table by the door and quietly climbed up the stairs. By this time, Ferb could hear every word the was being shouted; some in hurt, others in anger. "Johnny, I told you on the phone, we;re through. I took a lot from you that I shouldn't have, but catching you with another woman? That's the one thing I won't put up with. So just leave. I'll send you your things. But I want you out of my house. **NOW!**" The sound of a smack suddenly echoed through the house. Even after the echo had faded into silence, it's sound continued to ring in Ferb's ears, right before he heard the sound of Vanessa crying. "No! Nobody leaves me! No one! Wait, what do you think you're doing? Gonna go crying to daddy like a little girl? Fine! That idiot father of yours doesn't scare me. No one does." With a shaky voice Vanessa replied, "I'm calling the police you jerk!" "Oh no you don't! Get over here." At that moment, Ferb heard Vanessa scream in terror just as he had finally made his way to the bedroom doorway. He watched in horror as Johnny grabbed Vanessa off the floor, a broken vase by her feet most likely the sound he'd heard earlier, and threw her onto the bed and then reached into his back pocket, drawing out a knife! Suddenly, time seemed to stand still for Ferb. In a split second, he saw only two options. Call the police and watch Vanessa's life end before they even answered. Or risk, possibly even give, his life for the one he loved. Knowing there was really only one option he'd be able to live with, Ferb ran into the room and grabbed Johnny. The sudden introduction of a third person took Johnny's attention off of Vanessa and straight onto Ferb. With a glaring hatred, Johnny lunged at Ferb with his knife. "So, think you're a tough guy, whoever you are?" Ferb kept his cool as he replied, "Ferb Fletcher's the name. And I happen to know there's a lot more to being both tough **and** a man, than to harm a lady in **any** way." For a brief moment, Johnny looked as though he'd been smacked in the face as the insult instantly sunk in. However, he quickly shook it off. "You're going to regret those words you little punk," he spat back. With that, Johnny lunged at Ferb, who ducked swiftly out of the way, backing up out of the room and away from Vanessa. As the two fought their way out into the hall, Vanessa regained some of her composure and silently followed. She arrived just in time to see Johnny lunge his knife at Ferb who, being unfamiliar with the home's layout, forgot he was at the edge of the stairs and took a step back to avoid injury. As he lost his balance, he grabbed Johnny's jacket, refusing to give the creep a chance to go back and hurt Vanessa more. With that, the two fell down the stairs, toppling end over end. Ferb landed at the bottom first with Johnny flipping over him, knocking over the small table by the door; rose and note falling to the floor, forgotten. Just as Johnny had gotten back up and was about to finish the job, the sound of police sirens could be heard coming up the street. Thinking it best to escape and avoid going to jail, Johnny looked down at Ferb and said, "I'll be back Fletcher. Just you wait. And next time, I'll finish the job!" With that, Johnny ran out the door, hopped on his motorcycle and sped away. Vanessa ran down the stairs to Ferb's aid. "Ferb!", she cried. "What were you thinking? You could have been killed." "As could you have," he replied. "Yeah well...Good timing you showing up when you did." After a moment of awkward silence between the two, Vanessa looked up. "I wonder what's taking the police so long. It sounds like they're just sitting out there." "Oh right," Ferb said as he reached into his back pocket, pulled out a small remote and pressed a button on it. Suddenly, the sirens stopped. Vanessa looked perplexed. "What was that?", she asked. "My brother and I thought it a good idea to install a siren button in both our cars. One button is in the car. The other, on the key chain. They were meant for an emergency, like if we were getting mugged or something. You know, just to scare the guy off. Never thought I'd actually use it, though." Ferb started to get up but quickly collapsed back onto the floor in pain. It was at that moment that Vanessa saw the deep gash in his jacket, the white fabric quickly being saturated in a warm, red, sticky liquid. "Oh no. Ferb, you're bleeding!" As if one cue, Ferb suddenly began to loose consciousness. Thinking quickly, Vanessa grabbed her cell phone and dialed 911. At the same time, she saw a discarded shirt laying on the floor, no doubt one she'd dropped while bringing the morning's laundry upstairs. She quickly grabbed the shirt and began to apply pressure to Ferb's would in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Within a few minutes, Vanessa had explained to the emergency operator what had happened and had been assured that the police and an ambulance were being sent immediately. She thanked the woman and hung up so that she could devote her full attention to Ferb, knowing that as soon as he was in an ambulance, she would have to make the difficult call to Candace to let her know what had happened. But for now, she had to keep Ferb safe as he had kept her. Don't worry Ferb," she whispered. "Help is coming." As Vanessa said those words, she began to cry as she held Ferb's head in her lap and soon she realized that she was trying to reassure herself more than him. After 10 heart-pounding minutes, Vanessa could finally hear what was so far, the most beautiful sound she had heard all day. The sound of hope. Slowly, Vanessa began to smile as she started to wipe away her tears. "Do you hear that Ferb? They're coming. Ferb?" Vanessa looked down realizing that Ferb hadn't made a sound nor moved a muscle. "Ferb?" Quickly, Vanessa searched desperately for Ferb's wrist. Once she found it, her heart dropped. No pulse. "Ferb!"


	2. Of Phone Calls & Family

**Hello again everyone! Since I got such nice reviews on Chapter 1, I decided it was time to give you Chapter 2. Please keep in mind with this chapter that the events happening with the Flynn-Fletchers and the Doofenshmirtz's are happening at roughly the same time. Other than that, I hope you all enjoy! ^_^**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb or it's characters. They are owned solely by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh. I only own this story and Amy. Thank you.**

Chapter 2 ~ Of Phone Calls & Family

"I've got it! Hello? Oh hey Vanessa! What's u- wait, Vanessa, what do you mean Ferb's on his way to the hospital? He's been **WHAT?!** Oh no. Can you hold on a minute? **JEREMY!** We've got to leave **NOW!** Vanessa say there's been an emergency. Ferb's hurt and he's on his way to the hospital. Vanessa we're on our way. Bye." What had started out as a great day had suddenly taken a downward spiral as Candace grabbed her car keys and jacket and ran out the door with her husband, hoping they would get to the hospital on time.

As she started to get in the car, Jeremy stopped her. "Candace, why don't you let me drive. You need to call your parents and Phineas." "You're right." As they drove down the street, Candace took out her phone and stared at it. Normally, she had no problem getting on the phone. But this was different. This would be the single most difficult call the 22-year-old had ever made in her life. As she hit the speed dial, she waited for an answer. "Hello. Oh hey Candace! Guess what?", Phineas said, his ever present smile evident in his voice. Slowly, Candace started. "Phineas. You need to listen to me for a minute. You and Isabella need to head over to Danville General a.s.a.p." "Why? Are you ok? Is the baby ok?" "Yea we're fine. It's Ferb. I just got a call from Vanessa. Ferb's been stabbed. Jeremy and I are already on our way to meet up with him. Phineas? Phineas, did you hear me?"

After a slight pause, Phineas gave a quiet, "Yeah. I heard you. We're on our way. Have you called mom and dad yet?" "Not yet. You were the first one I called." "Do you want me to call them?" "No. I'll call them. You just focus on getting to the hospital. And please, drive carefully. I'm worried enough about Ferb right now. I don't think I'd be able to handle it if anything happened to you too." "Don't worry Candace, I'll be careful. Love you." "I love you too, little brother." With that, the two siblings hung up. After having made what was possibly the easier of the two phone calls, Candace braced herself for the second most painful phone call of her life.

"Lawrence, honey, I'm going to see if Vivian wants to go have lunch and then some shopping, ok.", Linda said to her husband as she leaned into the garage. "Alright Linda darling. Have a good time!" Just as Linda was about to head out the door, her cell phone went off. "Hello? Oh hi Candace. How are you and Jere- Oh my goodness. Hold on Candace. Lawrence! Get in the car now! Ferb's been stabbed! He's on his way to the hospital now." "What?", Lawrence asked, shocked. "How did that happen?" After hanging up on her daughter, Linda turned back to her husband and said, "Candace said he was trying to protect a friend and the girl's ex-boyfriend stabbed Ferb." "Oh dear." Lawrence began to panic as he thought about the fact that he might loose his son all too soon. Though he was able to move on and find love again, to this day it still hurt Lawrence some to have lost his first wife, Ferb's biological mother, at a young age.

Lawrence and Amy were only in their early 20's when it happened. One night when they were coming home from a romantic dinner, a drunk driver had sped around a corner and slammed right into Amy's side, killing her instantly. Thankfully, 2-year-old Ferb had been with Lawrence's parents that night.

It was something Lawrence rarely thought about. After all, he was more than content with his new life. He loved Linda more than the world, and Candace and Phineas were two of the best kids in the world and he considered them just as much his kids as Ferb was his son. But occasionally, when he looked at Ferb, with his natural green hair and his deep blue eye's that had always held wisdom beyond his years, Lawrence couldn't help but to be reminded of the woman from which these features of Ferb had come. And now, Lawrence feared he might loose his son and there was nothing he could do about it. Nothing but pray, which although it did give him a slight bit of comfort, it didn't take away the fear as him and Linda drove as fast as they could to the hospital. And though she was trying to be a strong source of comfort to her husband, inside Linda was a nervous wreck as well.

Ferb was 4, only 6 months older than Phineas when Lawrence brought him over to meet the Flynn's. But the moment he entered their home, Ferb had also entered all their hearts. Linda fell in love with the green haired little boy and knew she had gained another son. Candace had gained another little brother. And Phineas had not only gained a big brother, but had instantly found his best friend. A friendship that, so far, had never faltered. Linda knew that if anything happened to Ferb, their whole family would be devastated. She only prayed that the doctors would be able to help him in time.

**ZAP!**

"Perry the Platypus, why can't you just stay still when I'm trying to zap you out of existence? Is that **really** too much to ask of you?", Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz groaned as he fired his latest "-inator", the Bottomless Pit-inator, at his nemesis, Perry the Platypus A.K.A. Agent P.

Everyday for the last 10 years, Perry would leave his owners as soon as their backs were turned so he could fight Dr. Doofenshmirtz, the self-proclaimed "evil" scientist that the O.W.C.A had assigned him to. Though the first few years were incredibly annoying to Perry, he went through the routine just to keep Danville, the Tri-State area, and most importantly, Phineas, Ferb and the rest of the Flynn-Fletcher family safe. Had it not have been for his boys, Perry might've retired long ago. But he hadn't. Instead, the most unlikely of things had happened. Eventually, Perry and Heinz had become frienemies, to the point that Heinz considered Perry his best friend and even a part of his family. Likewise, though Perry didn't think of Heinz as his **best**friend, he did think of him as a friend and as such, would lend a hand when the scientist needed help for something, so long as it wasn't evil. Especially if it had anything to do with the man's daughter, Vanessa.

Whether it was giving her the best 16th birthday party or keeping her safe while she camped out in the woods with her friends, Perry had been there to help. Though she was already 15 by the time he had met her, he had grown somewhat attached to the now 23-year-old young lady, much the same as his owners. Maybe it was because he knew she wasn't even the tiniest bit evil and thus didn't approve of her father's endeavors. Or maybe it was because he knew she had become friends with Candace. Or maybe still, it was because he knew how much Ferb had fallen in love with her. Yes, that was probably it. Though Ferb didn't talk much, he would occasionally have chats with his pet, many of those conversations being about Vanessa and how he felt that she was truly the woman for him. Even as a child, Ferb had shown enough maturity towards her that, although at the time Perry had felt that the 4 year age difference was too big, he indeed felt that the two would one day wind up together.

Suddenly, Perry was brought back to the present as a beam hit the floor beside him, letting him know he had stood still too long. As Perry found himself trapped in a corner, Heinz aimed the ray gun at him and spoke, "Finally Perry the Platypus, I have you right where I want you. And after I send you to a random bottomless pit, I Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz will finally rule the entire Tri-State **ARE**-Huh?" From the other side of the room, the sound of the phone could be heard. "Norm, could you get that? I'm kind of in the middle of something here." "YES. YES I CAN DAD," Norm said in his ever cheerful, monotone voice. "Thank you. And for the last time I am in no way your father!", Heinz shot back at the robot. "Now, as I was saying Perry the Platypus, I...What is it now Norm?", Heinz groaned as Norm shoved the phone in his face. "IT'S FOR YOU DAD. SIS SOUNDS REALLY UPSET. SHE SAYS IT'S IMPORTANT." "Fine, hand it over you rust bucket. Hello Vanessa, sweetheart. How are you? Anything wro-," Heinz started to say before being suddenly interrupted. "Dad, there's been an emergency!", Vanessa sobbed, not even caring that she had just interrupted her father. The sound of his daughter crying scared Heinz. He had heard her cry before when she was little, but this was different. "Vanessa sweetheart, what's wrong?", he asked. Through her sobs Vanessa said, "I w-was trying to break up with Johnny f-for good because I caught him cheating, but he had a knife. I need you to get mom and both of you meet me at Danville G-General. Please dad, I really need you."

Suddenly, the line went dead. Heinz just stood where he was, unable to move, his heart being gripped by the fear of what had happened to Vanessa. To **his** Vanessa. To his one and only baby girl. If he lost her, the entire Tri-State area would know about it because he would be sent to prison for Johnny's murder. _Wait. Johnny. That son of a..._ "Krkrkrkr!" Heinz looked down to see Perry tugging on the sleeve of his lab coat with a worried look on his face. "Perry the Platypus, I'm sorry but our fight will have to wait. Vanessa has been seriously hurt by her ex., Johnny and she is now on her way to Danville General. I have to go pick up my ex-wife and get to my daughter. If you could just lock up on your way out after you destroy my -inator that would be great. Thank you Perry the Platypus." And with that, Heinz grabbed his keys and headed out the door, leaving Perry there alone. As he was destroying the -inator, Perry thought about what Heinz had said and became worried. He knew that if anything happened to Vanessa, not only would Heinz kill the young man responsible, but Ferb would be devastated. Perry locked up the apartment as asked, climbed into his hover car and began to fly back home. As he gave one last look to "Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc.", he silently hoped that Vanessa would be ok.

_"Isabella, will you marry me?" "Yes!" __**ring**__ "Hello. Oh hey Candace! Guess what?...Why? Are you ok? Is the baby ok?...Yeah. I heard you. We're on our way. Have you called mom and dad yet?...Do you want me to call them?...Don't worry Candace, I'll be careful. Love you."_

Those words continued to play back in Phineas' head, their sounds echoing in his ears. It had started out as the happiest day of his life. And with a single phone call, his entire world came crashing down around him. "Phineas, what's wrong?", Isabella asked, concern filling her voice. Phineas just stood for a moment, dazed from the shock of what his sister had just told him. Suddenly, he snapped back, grabbed Isabella's hand and ran with her to his car, their picnic now laying forgotten on the grass. As they got into the car, Phineas looked at Isabella and simply said, "Ferb's been stabbed. He's at the hospital." And that was that. Nothing more. As they drove down the road, the minutes ticked by getting more and more tense as silence filled the normally cheerfully noisy car.

No longer able to take the sudden silence, Isabella looked over at Phineas and asked, "Phineas, are you ok?" Silence. "Phineas, please talk to me." "It's all my fault." Unsure of how to respond to that statement, Isabella just stared at Phineas. "My brother might die, and it's all my fault," Phineas finally said, a calm, emotionless tone filling his normally optimistic voice. "Phineas, what are you talking about?", Isabella asked. Without removing his gaze from the road, Phineas said, "I suggested that Ferb go over to Vanessa's house and talk to her. I wanted him to have a good day. Now he's fighting for his life because he got hurt trying to protect her from her ex. and it's all my fault. If I had just kept my mouth shut, he'd be right at home waiting safe and sound." At that moment, Phineas' voice began to crack as tears began pouring down his face.

Wanting to provide her best friend, her fiancé, with some comfort, Isabella looked at Phineas and said, "Phineas, it's not your fault. No one could have known this would happen. You were just being a good brother. Besides, if Ferb hadn't gone over, Vanessa would probably be dead right now and if that happened you know Ferb would be blaming himself. So either way someone would be devastated. At least this way there's some hope. We just need to pray that Ferb will be alright." "You're right. You always are," Phineas said as a small smile crept back to his face. "That's the man I love," Isabella said as she reached over to hold Phineas' free hand. Although he was trying to keep a happier expression on his face for Isabella's sake, Phineas' mind was still being plagued by thoughts of whatever happened being his fault.

Heinz drove as quickly as he could, slowing down only for red lights and speed traps. Normally, he wouldn't care about obeying the law, but he knew that if he got pulled over he could be there for hours and right now his main focus was getting to his little girl. As he drove to Charlene's, he kept thinking about how he could have, how he **should** have, been a better husband and, in turn, been a better father. If only he had done that, that could have all been avoided. If only. If only he he had tried to better to keep his marriage together, he would have seen more of Vanessa through her life and then he would have had more of a say when it came to the men she dated. When he first met Johnny, he didn't think much, other than the fact that he made Vanessa happy. But as time went on, Heinz began to see what a creep Johnny was, only thinking of himself. But since Heinz only saw Vanessa on the weekends, he couldn't get her to listen to his argument. Eventually, he had given up all together for fear that he would only drive his daughter away. And now it was too late.

As he pulled up in his ex-wife's driveway, Heinz was happy to see her car sitting in front of the garage. Leaving the car running, he jumped out and sprinted to the house before banging on the door. After a few moments, Charlene appeared, an apparent confusion plastered on her face. "Heinz? What are you...," she started to ask before getting cut off by her panicked ex-husband. "We don't have time, just get in the car!" Normally, Charlene wouldn't just follow an order like that without some sort of explanation, but one look at Heinz told her something was wrong. Very wrong. So with a nod, she locked her front door and got into her ex's car before they sped off. After several minutes of driving, Charlene spoke. "Heinz, would you please tell me what's wrong? You're starting to scare me." "Oh sorry," Heinz started. "Vanessa's had an emergency. That hoodlum boyfriend of her's hurt her and she's at the hospital. She asked me to get you because she wants both of us to meet her there." Charlene just stared for a moment, trying to figure out if he was just playing some kind of cruel joke on her, but the look in his eyes told her he was all too serious. As the realization hit her, she became quiet, afraid that if she spoke the tears would come. And if that happened, she might not be able to stop.

And so that's how they traveled together to the hospital. In silence, with fear weighing over them and gripping at their hearts. Neither one able to imagine the sight that would meet them once they arrived.


	3. Waiting For Hope

**Hello to my faithful few followers. I hope everyone had a VERY Merry Christmas! I am soooo so sorry that it has taken me so long to update, especially since on my last update I said that I would have this chapter on here within a week or two. I had a few family crisises going on (please pray for my mum's health) and so between that and work picking up BIG time with the holidays... let's just say I needed a little me time to not focus to much on anything. But I am back, hopefully for good until this is finished. I have a few more chapter past this one already written and I am struggleing with writer's block but hopefully by the time I get to that point I'll be doing better with that. **

**So, now onto the reviews. I should have done this from the get go but since I didn't think of it til now, I'm going to do the guest reviews from both previous chapters. If you have an account, I should have already PMed you. If not I promise I will.**

**From Chapter 1:**

**Fletcher-inator: It's ok that you couldn't log on. Yes, you were my first reviewer. Yay! XD And yes, Ferb is such a gentleman! Part of why I love him! :)**

**Guest: Thank you, thank you, and thank you! I'm glad that you like it so much and I'm also glad that you think I was able to do a good enough job with keeping everyone in character. I tried very hard. :)**

**Guest: I'm not sure how you meant the Phineremy idea. If you meant it like a family type pairing/oneshot, than I'm sure I can work something out. If you meant like a romantic type pairing, I'm sorry but I won't be doing one of those. I hope you like my story though.**

**From Chapter 2:**

**Guest: I'm glad that you are in love with my story and that I have left you in suspense! I will try to do a better job with updating more frequently. :)**

**Guest: I'm glad you think my writing is brilliant! I can't tell you what happens, but I will say that it will have a happy ending. Eventually. And I totally agree with not wanting them to die. I'm am totally having fun writing this. :)**

**Ferb-Nessa-Bella: Don't worry, that's not it. :)**

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! XD**

**I think that's about it. So, without further ado, enjoy the chapter!**

******Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb or their characters. They belong to Walt Disney Studios and the amazing Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh. I only own this story, Amy, Officers Daniel Mires and Jeffery Marshal and Dr. Thomas Brodie. Enjoy! =)**

**Btw, I have 3 Easter eggs in this chapter. Anyone who can find them gets a virtual cookie!**

**Edit: I actually have a forth Easter egg I forgot about. So anyone who finds this one also, gets TWO virtual cookies! Also, please feel free everyone to check out my DeviantArt account. My URL is (minus the dashes. There are NO dashes) h-t-t-p-:-/-/-d-i-z-z-y-p-i-r-a-t-e-.-d-e-v-i-a-n-t-a-r-t-.-c-o-m-/ Thanks! :)**

Chapter 3 ~ Waiting For Hope

Finally, after about 20 minutes, Heinz and Charlene had arrived at Danville General. After quickly locating the E.R. entrance and parking the car, the two raced in. When they arrived at the desk, Heinz immediately asked the receptionist what room Vanessa Doofenshmirtz was in and how she was doing. To their horror, the woman said that Vanessa wasn't in a room. Just as Heinz looked as though he would collapse from the shock of being too late, the receptionist reassured him by telling him and Charlene that Vanessa was not the one who had been stabbed.

Although the news thrilled both parents to the point of them hugging each other for the first time in 20 years,it still left them wondering where their daughter was. The young woman answered their curiosity by directing them to the waiting room and pointing to the slender figure who was huddled in the corner.

As Heinz neared his daughter, he hesitantly spoke, "Vanessa?" Slowly, she raised her head to reveal her red rimmed eyes and a tear stained face. As soon as Heinz saw Vanessa, he knew that any previous reassurance that everything would be ok had suddenly been shattered.

"Dad?" With that, Vanessa bolted out of her seat and ran into her father's arms. As Heinz held his baby girl, Vanessa began to sob. "Dad, it's all my fault. He may die and it's all my fault." Surprised at her sudden outburst, Heinz just patted Vanessa on the back, trying to sooth her. "Shhhh, sh-sh-sh-sh. It's ok baby girl. Just calm down and then you can tell me what happened. After a few minutes, Vanessa finally felt as though she had no more tears left to shed.

As she began to calm down, Heinz and Charlene led her back over to the chairs, and the three sat down, Heinz and Charlene on either side of Vanessa. "Alright," Heinz began, "would you like to tell us what happened?" "Well-," Vanessa started.

For the next 10 minutes, Vanessa struggled to tell her parents everything that had occurred that morning, from trying to surprise Johnny and instead catching him with another woman, to the fight that broke out at her house and being rescued by Ferb and how that got them to where they were currently at. Throughout her story, Heinz felt himself wanting to pummel Johnny, or at least build an -inator to send the punk off to the worst place he could think of.

At the same time, Charlene had a combination of emotions. On one hand, she was going through all the typical emotions of a loving mother who's child was hurting. On the other hand, she couldn't help but feel that she should know the name Ferb. She knew she had heard it before and it was so unusual of a name that the odds of it being someone else were pretty slim. Still, she couldn't put a finger on where she had heard the name. It wouldn't be long before Charlene would figure out the mystery.

10 minutes later, the Flynn-Fletcher family came through the E.R. entrance. The moment Charlene saw Linda, it hit her like a brick wall. "Linda!", Charlene called out. Linda turned around to see her friend. "Charlene? What are you doing here?", Linda asked, confused. "Linda, I am so sorry to you and your family for what's happened to your son. Vanessa told us what happened."

At that moment, Vanessa got up and cautiously approached the distraught family. Trying to keep herself together, Vanessa spoke. "I am so sorry to all of you. It's all my fault that Ferb's here right now. I should have done something to help, but I froze. I'm just really sorry." With tears in her eyes, Linda looked at Vanessa and said, "Honey, this is **not** your fault. It's your ex's. **He's** the one who tried to hurt you and **he's** the one who hurt Ferb. But there was **nothing** you could have done to change the situation. We're just glad you're ok. And Ferb would want hat too."

Linda took Vanessa in her arms and the two hugged. As they broke away after a moment, the two families walked together to the sitting area and sat down; the Doofenshmirtz's in one corner, Candace and Jeremy in the other across from them, Phineas and Isabella taking up the two seats in the middle of the room and Linda and Lawrence occupying the double seat across from them. There they all sat. Waiting. Praying. Trying to comfort one another as they waited for word on their loved one. The young man who, though rarely smiled himself, could always bring a smile to the faces of those around him.

After a painful 4 1/2 hour wait, a doctor finally came out. "Hi, I'm Dr. Thomas Brodie. I'm looking for the family of Ferb Fletcher?" A chorus of "Here!" followed his request. Lawrence and Linda got up, while the rest of the group remained seated. "How is my son, doctor? God, please tell me he's going to be alright," Lawrence asked, fearful of the answer. The doctor thought carefully before answering. "At the moment, it's uncertain. We've had to restart his heart about 3 times. Once at the crime scene, once on the way here, and then again during surgery. He lost about half his body's blood supply, which we are currently replacing. Thankfully, none of his vital organs were damaged, so it was pretty much a case of stitching up tissue and closing up the wound. At the moment though, that's about as much as I can say with certainty. I'll come back to let you all know when we have him in I.C.U. and when you can see him."

As the doctor turned to leave he remembered something. "Oh, and where's the young lady that arrived with him?" Without a word, Vanessa stood up and walked over. The doctor looked at her before saying, "We had to remove this before we could operate. I thought you might like to hang onto it." The doctor then handed over the jacket that Ferb had been wearing earlier that day. Vanessa held it in her hands, looking at it for a moment before uttering a quiet, "Thank you," so silent it was barely above a whisper. Then, quietly, she turned and walked back to her seat, putting Ferb's jacket on as she did so, hugging it close to her.

Everyone watched as Vanessa sat down and hugged her legs to her chest, before beginning to lightly rock herself back and forth, her face and it's expression, devoid of any emotion. Heinz, worried about his daughter, walked over and sitting down next to her, put his arms around her and held her. Other than making her unable to rock herself, Vanessa made no other response to show that she was aware that he was there. She just continued to stare straight ahead, her eyes blank and empty.

Eventually, about another 4 hours later, a couple of police officers arrived. "Hi, we'd like to speak with a Miss Vanessa Doofenshmirtz. We were told she was over here." Everyone looked at Vanessa who continued to stare straight ahead of her, eyes barely blinking, breath coming slowly and going even slower. Not once did she turn her head or make any other movement to acknowledge that anyone had spoken to her. After several minutes of this, Heinz finally looked at the two officers and said, "Hello, I am Heinz Doofenshmirtz, Vanessa's father. Might I ask who you are and why you're asking to speak with her?"

The first officer replied, "Of course sir. I'm Officer Daniel Mires and this is Officer Jeffery Marshal. We've been assigned to the Fletcher case. We've had our men combing the city and surrounding area for the last 9 hours looking for a Mr. Johnny Miller. About 10 minutes ago we got a call from one of the other officers saying they picked up a young man on the outskirts of the Tri-State Area that matches Miller's description. We just wanted Miss Doofenshmirtz to try and give us a positive ID in a lineup, as well as give us her statement of what happened." As Heinz looked at the officers he said, "Well, as you can see, my daughter's in quite an emotional state at the moment, considering everything she's been through today. But I will make sure that she sees you as soon as she's feeling up to it."

Officer Mires replied, "Thank you. Just make sure it doesn't take too long. Without an ID we can only hold him for 24 hours before we have to release him." The two officers then handed Heinz their contact information before giving their condolences and left the two families, a thick silence once again settling over the group.

For a few minutes, minutes that to the families seemed like hours, they waited in silence. And then it happened. Right as the clock on the waiting room wall was ticking on 11:00 PM, after 9 1/2 hours of waiting, of crying, of saying silent prayers that screamed to be answered, Dr. Brodie finally returned. Everyone held their breath as they waited for the doctor to speak. When he did, he said, "Well, I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is that we finally finished the flood transfusion. The bad news is that it will still be about half an hour before you're able to see him because we discovered there was some swelling of his brain. We think he hit his head when he fell down the stairs."

A gasp could be heard through the room. The doctor continued, "Now, even though there's no way we can be certain at this time, we don't believe that the swelling, will cause any permanent damage. Currently, Ferb is in a coma and we are working on bringing the swelling down. As I said before, it should take about half an hour, and then we'll let you see him." Lawrence spoke for everyone as he said, "Thank you doctor. We truly appreciate all you've done." The doctor nodded his head in understanding, turned around and left back through the E.R. doors.

It took only 10 minutes after the doctor left for Vanessa to finally fall asleep, her body drained far past the point of simply being exhausted, her tears dried up and her shaking having finally ceased. As she slept, she leaned over, her head laying on her father's shoulder while he kept an arm protectively around her. As Heinz's mind began to wander back to his earlier thoughts of how this could have all been avoided had he been a better husband and father, his thoughts were suddenly broken by a slight movement he saw out of the corner of his eye. As he looked to his right, he saw that the movement was Charlene moving her free hand toward him. At first, he thought she was only stretching, but as he looked in her eyes, he could tell that she desperately needed some comfort. So he took her hand in his and quietly asked, "Do you think we should talk to the boy's parents?" Charlene nodded in agreement before her and Heinz got up as carefully as they could, so as not to wake their sleeping daughter.

After quietly walking the few steps it took to get to Linda and Lawrence, Charlene placed a hand on her friend's shoulder to let her know they were there. When Linda looked up, she nudged Lawrence, causing him to look up as well. As the two distraught parents looked on, Charlene began, "We just wanted to tell you both how sorry we are for the pain you're going through. We're keeping Ferb in our prayers and we hope that everything will turn out alright." As Charlene took a moments pause, Heinz took that opportunity to speak his mind as well. "We would also like to say how grateful we are that your son showed up at our daughter's house when he did. From what Vanessa told us, if he had been there even a moment later, she wouldn't be."

By that point, Heinz began to cry, his voice cracking, as he continued, "She's my only little baby girl. I'd die if anything happened to her. So thank you. Thank you for raising your son to be a man that will protect a lady in need. Thank you." When Heinz could no longer go on, Linda and Lawrence got up and hugged Charlene and Heinz, telling them both, "You're welcome," and thanking them for their prayers. The two couples then sat down and talked, deciding it was the best way to keep their minds pre-occupied as they waited for word on when they could finally see Ferb.

After another 15 minutes, Dr. Brodie finally returned. He waited for everyone's attention as those who were awake woke those who had fallen asleep. "Ok, we finally have him in I.C.U. so you can see him now. He's in room 103. For now, I'm going to say **just** family. We don't want to startle him when he wakes up since he may or may not remember what happened right away."

As the Flynn-Fletchers got up to follow the doctor, Linda paused by Vanessa and held out her hand to the young lady. Vanessa looked at it for a moment before saying, "But he said only family." Linda gave a warm smile as she said, "Vanessa, honey, you **are** family. Besides, Ferb risked his life for you so I know he'll want to see you when he wakes up." Vanessa gave a quiet, "Thank you" as she took the woman's hand and followed the doctor. As they walked through the double doors and shortly afterward arrived at Ferb's room, Vanessa's thoughts slowed down to two: _"Will he be ok?"_ and _"Will he forgive me?"_

As Dr. Brodie placed his hand on the doorknob, he said, "Now just remember, he's still asleep and he won't look like he normally does." As the family braced themselves, the doctor opened the door. At first, the room appeared empty, but when their eyes fell upon the young man sleeping in the bed, a unified gasp filled the room.


	4. Waking, Panic and Late Night Chats

**Hello again everyone! I finished typing this sooner than I expected so since it took me so long to post chapter 3, I thoguht I'd give you guys a little extra. Keep in mind the fact that most chapters won't get posted this quickly. But this is my way of saying thank you to everyone who has been gracious enough to stick with me and my story. You guys are awesome! Ok, first off, I'd like to say that there are some people who have won some virtual cookies. The Easter eggs are as follows: Dr. Thomas Brodie (Ferb's voice actor, Thomas Brodie-Sangster), Officer Daniel Mires (Creator Dan Povenmire), Officer Jeffery Marshal (Creator Jeff "Swampy" Marsh) and the 4th Easter egg if Johnny's last name, Miller (Johnny's voice actor Logan Miller) I realized that Johnny didn't have a last name so I had to provide one.**

**Ok, now on to the reviews!**

**Guest: Thank you! I plan on keeping it up! =)**

**guest: Glad you like the cliffhanger! Hope you don't mind that this chapter doesn't really have one. But there shall be more cliffhangers to come. And thank you for thinking of my family. It means a lot. =)**

**Ferb-Nessa-Bella: Don't worry. I am writing more! =)**

**Ok, other than that, I say thanks again to everyone reading and hope you all enjoy! God Bless!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb or their characters. They belong to Walt Disney Studios and the amazing Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh. I only own this story, Amy, Officers Daniel Mires and Jeffery Marshal and Dr. Thomas Brodie. Enjoy! =)**

******Edit: Also, I would like to give credit for the last section of this chapter to Laura Latts who gave me the inspiration for it! =)** Sorry Laura, I thought I had already put this but discovered I didn't. 

Chapter 4: Waking, Panic and Late Night Chats

As the family stared at Ferb, the first thing everyone noticed was how pale his skin was. The second, how dull his normally bright and shiny, naturally green hair was. He had tubes coming out of him from every direction and, for a moment, the only sound that could be heard was the rhythmic beating of his heart. As everyone silently entered the room, Dr. Brodie was the first to speak. "Although he's asleep, he can hear everything so if any of you would like to speak to him, I highly encourage it. He could wake up any minute or it could take hours or even days. But if he hears the people he loves, it might actually bring him around faster."

Lawrence walked to the side of Ferb's bed. "Ferb?", he said as he reached out and held his son's hand. "Ferb, it's your father. If you can hear me son, I wanted to tell you that I love you very much and I can't wait until you wake you." As Lawrence's eyes began to fill with tears, Linda stepped up to speak next. "Ferb, sweetie, it's mom. We're very proud of you. You were **very** brave, and now the doctors are taking good care of you to make you better. But you have to wake up soon." Next was Candace's turn, as she walked over to her little brother. "Ferb," she started. "It's Candace. Ferb, you've gotta wake up. I'll have to bust ya if you don't," she said with a slight chuckle. "But seriously, we miss you. Please wake up." As Phineas walked over, he said, "Hey bro, it's Phineas. I know what we're gonna do today. You're gonna wake up and I'll be here to help you out with whatever you need. Just don't take to long waking up, ok man?"

Finally, it was Vanessa's turn. As everyone turned around, they saw that she was still waiting by the door, petrified with fear that if she got to close, she'd somehow break Ferb in his frail looking state. As Linda once again took Vanessa's hand, she led her over to Ferb and sat her down in the chair next to his bed. Linda leaned down and said in a very soft voice, "Speak to him Vanessa. Let him hear your voice." As Vanessa took Ferb's hand, she spoke. "Ferb? It's, uh, it's Vanessa. Thank you. For saving me. Just, uh..."

At that moment, the wave of tears that had previously been subdued, once again came crashing down. "Oh Ferb! I am so sorry. I never wanted this to happen. Especially to **you** of all people. Please be ok. I'm sorry." As Vanessa buried her face in Ferb's blanket and sobbed, something happened. Although Ferb was still in a coma and couldn't speak, for the first time since the accident, he showed that he knew what was going on. The hand that was holding Vanessa's tightened it's grip a bit and although his eyes remained closed, Ferb's face scrunched up. The look on his face was one of great pain. Not physical pain, but rather that of the emotional sort. And everyone in that room knew exactly what was going on. Ferb knew Vanessa was there and could hear her crying and the whole thing was breaking his heart. But for now, all he could do was hold her hand to let her know that everything would be ok as he waited for the darkness to be lifted from him, which, thankfully, didn't take long.

As soon as he heard his beloved's voice and the pain that filled it, his mind went into an immediate fight to wake up. After several long minutes of struggle, that to Ferb felt like an eternity, one eye opened and then the other. And as he ran his free hand softly through Vanessa's hair, Candace ran out of the room. After a moment, she returned with Dr. Brodie in tow. "Good to see you awake Ferb," the doctor said. "I'm Dr. Brodie. I was your doctor through surgery. Let me just check you're vitals real quick. Now how much do you remember?" Not missing a beat, Ferb replied, "I remember helping my brother get ready this morning, before getting ready myself after he left. Then I went over to Vanessa's house to talk to her. When I got there, it appeared at first that she wasn't home but then I heard shouting and a crash so I snuck in. When I reached to room she was in, I saw a guy trying to hurt her so I tackled him. Eventually, we fell down the stairs, he ran and shortly after Vanessa came to my aid. A moment or two later, I blacked out. That's about it, I suppose."

When the doctor was finished with his work, he turned back to Ferb and said, "Well, it seems like you remember everything. Or close enough to it anyway. So the odds are there was no brain damage. Now, as I've told your family and friends, none of your organs were damaged and you had a concussion, most likely from your fall which resulted in a brief coma. But all your vitals are normal so I'd say you'll be back to normal in no time. Although we'll still want to keep you here for about a week just to monitor your condition." Ferb nodded and said, "Thank you.", to the doctor. As Dr. Brodie was about to leave, he turned to the family and said, "I'm not saying any of you **have** to leave, but I'd prefer it if the visit is kept to no more than two people at night so Ferb can get some sleep. The quicker he heals, the quicker he can go home."

After the doctor left, Ferb looked back at his family and said, "If you all want to go home and get some rest, I wouldn't mind. I wouldn't want to keep any of you from a good nights rest." Speaking for everyone, Lawrence asked, "Are you sure son?" "Yes. Yes I am." "Well, alright then. If you need anything, just call. Love you, Ferb." Hugs and "Goodbyes," were given and soon the family was beginning to leave. Vanessa, however, remained seated. As Ferb looked at her he said, "Vanessa, aren't you going to go home as well? You really need the rest." Vanessa just shook her head saying, "I'm fine. I can sleep here. I just...don't want to leave you."

As much as Ferb was concerned about her sleep, what she said brought a smile to his face and, not really **wanting** her to leave, he reluctantly nodded in approval of her decision. And so she stayed, holding his hand until they both fell asleep, hands still entwined.

Back out in the waiting room, everyone was deciding who should stay and who should go. Eventually, the decision was made that Jeremy and Candace would go home and Phineas would take Isabella home before getting some rest himself. Linda and Lawrence as well as Heinz and Charlene decided to stay at the hospital in case Ferb or Vanessa needed anything. Phineas said he'd return early in the morning, and had Ferb make a list of anything he might need from home. As the younger members of the group left, Heinz turned to Charlene and said, "Hey, uh, Charlene. We need to have a talk."

Perry was running around the house like crazy. He had arrived home at 1:45 and had spent the day relaxing and enjoying the quiet of the empty home. Although he had been expecting Ferb to be home, he had appreciated the time to himself. But as 10:00 PM and eventually 11:00 rolled around, the monotreme became nervous when neither of his boys had returned home. So for the last hour and a half, Perry had been running around, desperate for a clue, **any** clue, as to the whereabouts of the boys.

Finally, he heard the sound he had been waiting for all night. The sound of a car pulling into the driveway. Perry took a quick peek out the window just in time to see Phineas drowsily exiting his car. Though Perry was still concerned as to what had happened to Ferb, he was happy to see that at least one of the boys was safe. As he resumed his mindless pet mode, Phineas came through the door. "Hey Perry," Phineas said as he bent down to pick up his pet. As he held Perry close to him and sat down on the couch, Phineas started to cry. If ever there was a time Perry was terrified, it was now.

In the 12 years Perry had lived with the Flynn-Fletcher's, he had never seen Phineas cry. He stayed optimistic no matter what. Whether he was being bullied by Buford or his life was being threatened by Heinz's 2nd Dimension counterpart, Perry had almost always seen the boy keep a positive attitude which had only faltered on a few occasions. The first occasion was the time when Perry had been reassigned to the Regurgitator and had thus been relocated. As he was leaving the Flynn-Fletcher home, he took one last look at the kids and could see the look of sadness in Phineas' eyes that clearly said he was crushed at the prospect that his pet might be lost.

The second occasion was the time that the boys and their friends had traveled around the world on the summer solstice. When the kids got stuck on a deserted island, Phineas had briefly lost his self confidence in his ability to make something that could get everyone back home safely and almost gave up until Isabella reminded him that he was the one and only Phineas Flynn who could do anything he put his mind to. Once they arrived back in Danville, however, they hit another bump in the proverbial road when they discovered that their path home was blocked by road construction. If they tried to go any other way, it would take to much time and Phineas would lose his bet with Buford. Then the crazy idea suddenly came. If Buford returned everyone's bikes then, they could ride them down the ramps in front of the construction and jump right over the mess. But since Buford had never taken Candace's bike, all that was left was a small tricycle. So in a moment of desperation to get Candace to let go of her pride for a moment, Phineas had yelled at his sister to get on the trike.

The third occasion was when Baljeet took a day off from being Buford's nerd and decided to spend it instead climbing to the summit of Danville Mountain. Things would have been fine, except Baljeet decided he wanted to reach the top the old fashioned way, with his own two feet and nothing else. Every idea that Phineas came up with for something they could build to make the trek easier or at least more entertaining had been quickly shot down by the young Indian boy. So by the time they finally reached the top, Phineas was beginning to crack up from the lack of being able to bring life to his ideas. And then it happened. All Isabella had to do was say, "Phineas, go!" Phineas cracked. No sooner had the words left Isabella's mouth than Phineas yelled, "Ice chalet!", and then ran off at the speed of light to start building it.

Now, the second and third occasions of Phineas losing his optimism, where moments that Perry had not personally witnessed. No, he only knew of them because when he returned home later, he heard his owners and their friends making mention of them, with Phineas continuing to deny the fact that he had, as everyone began to say, "cracked". But of those few times when it had happened, there was one more that, not only did Perry witness first hand, but it was a time that would be forever engrained in Perry's memories. That was the time the boys discovered Perry's secret. Under any normal circumstances, Perry would never have let his guard down. But when his boys crossed paths with Heinz and not only helped him fix his Other-Dimension-inator but then followed him into another dimension, Perry knew it was only a matter of time. When they first found Heinz's 2nd Dimension self, Perry have prayed that he would have the same personality as his dimension's Heinz. But luck was not on his side that day. No, not only was this Heinz smart enough to see right through his mindless facade, but he was willing to risk the well being of two innocent children just to prove his point to 1st Dimension Heinz, Perry knew he'd have to take action.

From that moment on, the easy day Perry was supposed to have was thrown out the window. Almost the entire day Phineas had randomly yelled at the monotreme and although Perry understood it was out of feeling hurt and betrayed, it didn't make the platypus feel any better. And to make matters worse, by the time Phineas finally realized that Perry **did** trust them and why he had kept it a secret anyway, Carl and Major Monogram showed up to wipe everyone's memories of the event.

But the fact remained that minus a few metaphorical wrenches being thrown in Phineas' cheery attitude, Perry had never witnessed the boy cry. As he was wondering why Phineas was crying and why Ferb wasn't there with them, Phineas answered Perry's unspoken question. "Hey Perry. Sorry I'm home so late. Ferb's in the hospital. He just woke up a little while ago. It's just been a really long day." _Ferb. Hospital. Just woke up? Wait a minute. Dr. D said Vanessa was at the hospital. Oh no._ Being smart for a platypus, heck smarter than most people, it took Perry all but a few seconds to process what Phineas had just said and put two and two together as to what must have happened. Being the gentleman that he was, Ferb must have tried to protect Vanessa and got hurt in the process.

As much as Perry wanted to check on Ferb right then and there, he knew he couldn't go without Phineas or he'd blow his cover. So as Phineas carried Perry upstairs so they could go to bed and get some sleep before going back to the hospital, Perry accepted the fact that he would have to wait until the morning. As Perry laid curled up to Phineas, trying to fall asleep, he couldn't help but feel like he had failed his owners. As soon as the Flynn-Fletcher's had adopted him all those years ago, he had made a silent vow to protect them all at all costs, **especially** Phineas and Ferb. They had always shown him an unconditional love no matter how 'boring' he appeared to be. Even when they learned his secret, they still loved him. They had trusted him with their lives. And they allowed themselves to forget because of how much they loved him. They trusted him and Perry had failed.

As the guilt flooded over him, Perry eventually fell into a restless sleep. The last conscious thought that entered his mind was that he would be having a long talk with Heinz tomorrow to figure out a way to make Johnny pay. If the scientist got a good beating from Perry on a daily basis and he wasn't even **truly** evil, then Johnny would get Perry's wrath 10 fold.

1:00 AM. The clock on the wall gave a brief chime to alert anyone listening of the hour. Although most of the hospital was, at this time, either asleep or otherwise not paying any attention, the clock did, however, manage to wake from his slumber, a young man with green hair. As Ferb groggily woke up, he couldn't help but smile at the sight before his eyes. Vanessa, still sitting in her chair, had fallen asleep with her head on Ferb's lap, her hand still entwined in his. Not wanting to wake her, he just continued to stare at her. Even in her sleep, despite messy hair and a face that said she'd spent the better part of the day crying, Ferb still felt that she was the most beautiful woman on earth.

As he looked her over, he couldn't help but notice that she was wearing a white jacket that he hadn't remembered seeing on her earlier. As Vanessa shifted in her sleep, Ferb saw a large portion of the front of the jacket was covered in blood with a huge gash in the middle of it. Only then did Ferb realize that she was wearing his jacket. In the moment that he realized it, Ferb was filed with an odd mixture of happiness and guilt. On one hand, it made him happy to think that in a stressful moment, Vanessa would use **his** jacket as a source of comfort. On the other hand, however, he couldn't help but to feel a pang of guilt for the fact that, had he not messed up, she wouldn't have been upset. If only Ferb had been able to remember where exactly the edge of the staircase was, this whole trip to the hospital could have been avoided. But unfortunately, this having been Ferb's very first visit to Vanessa's house, the layout was unfamiliar to him.

As Ferb continued to think about the day's earlier events, Vanessa quietly awoke from her gentle slumber. At first, she thought of saying something to Ferb when she noticed that he too was awake. But the sight of him deep in thought made her stop and stare for a moment. As she watched him think, she couldn't help but smile. As she got a good look at him for the first time since she'd been able to think clearly that day, she realized just how much Ferb had changed in the last 7 years. Of course she had seen him from time to time. For the first couple of years after they met, they had continued to run into each other at the most random of times. And of course they had seen each other at her high school graduation. Even though Candace was a grade behind Vanessa, the two girls, as different as they were, had become friends, not to mention Jeremy graduated the same year as Vanessa. And her and Ferb had swapped cell phone numbers and kept in touch for about a year afterwards. But after that, they had gotten caught up in their lives and as things sometimes go, they had lost touch. Until today. Today when her unexpected knight in shining armor came riding in on his white horse to save her.

As she mentally chuckled to herself at the thought, Ferb finally noticed that he was no longer the only one awake. As he smiled at Vanessa, he let out a quiet, "Ello." Startled by the sudden introduction of sound to the previously quiet room, Vanessa jumped slightly in her chair before smiling back and saying, "Hey! Sorry, you looked like you were thinking so I didn't want to bother you." Ferb just stared at her for a moment with a look that, to anyone else would have been unreadable, but to Vanessa, it said, "You're **never** a bother." After a moment or two of awkward silence, Ferb finally broke the stillness by asking, "So, were you able to sleep well?" "Yea, I was fine. You?" "Oh yea." Once again, silence settled in the room. Both had questions on their minds, but neither was sure of how to ask or how to even start.

Finally, Ferb found the best way to get a conversation going by bringing up the previous days events. Hoping he wasn't making a huge mistake, he hesitantly started to ask, "Has he ever hit you before yesterday?" The moment the words escaped his lips, he mentally face-palmed himself for his insensitive delivery of said question. "I'm sorry for my bluntness on that. I didn't mean to be rude," he said quickly. "No, it ok. I figured you'd ask sooner or later. It's kind of a long story though. Are you sure you really want to hear it?" Without a moments hesitation, Ferb nodded before saying, "You have my full attention." "Okay." Vanessa took a moment to think of how to start before saying, "Well, when we first started dating in high school, Johnny had seemed like a nice guy. Close to the end of the summer when you and I met, we started to drift apart after he started paying more attention to his video games than he did to me or our relationship until I finally broke up with him. Don't get me wrong. It's not that I have to be the center of attention or anything. But when he would start breaking our dates or leave me waiting because he couldn't even pick up the phone and call because he was in the middle of a level, I just wanted someone who actually had goals in life.

So after Johnny and I broke up, I started dating this guy named Monty. That only lasted about 2 years due to the fact that our dad's are sworn enemies. As a result, Monty and I were constantly fighting, trying to defend our fathers. How we even managed to stay together **that** long, under the circumstances, is a mystery to me. For two years after that I stayed single, trying to focus on my future and started going to college.

Then out of nowhere Johnny showed up asking me to take him back, saying he had changed and he would do better. I was a little hesitant, but I figured there was no harm in giving him a second chance. So, we started dating again. At first, things seemed to be going pretty good. Then about two years ago, I finally made the decision to move out on my own. With Johnny's help, I got the place I'm in now. Since he helped me pay for it, I agreed that he could have a key. Sometimes if we got home late, I'd let him sleep on the couch. He still kept his apartment in the city, but eventually he kind of moved himself into my place as well.

When that happened, I started seeing another side of him that I hadn't seen before. He drank. He started coming in late with no explanation as to why. Eventually, I broke up with him again, telling him that if he couldn't trust me enough to tell me where he was going that we didn't belong together. A week later he came back saying he was sorry and so I took him back. And so that's how things went. For a year and a half things went that way. We'd start fighting, I'd break up with him. A week later he'd be back and we'd be back together again.

Then about six months ago, we got into the worst fight we'd ever had. He saw me talking with a guy I was friends with from college and Johnny accused me of cheating on him. When we got home, our fight escalated to the two of us screaming at each other until he hit me for the first time and then slammed me into a wall. You know, I've always prided myself, thinking I was pretty tough. But that night, I locked my bedroom door before I went to sleep. I was terrified. When I woke up the next morning I had a black eye.

So I spent the next month making excuses with my parents as to why I couldn't get together with either of them, just until my eye healed. If they would have seen me like that, my mom would have called the police and my dad, well, he's an evil scientist. If he would have known Johnny had hurt his only daughter, he'd have built an '-inator' just to send him away or torture him in some way. Now I kinda wish I had let dad do that."

Vanessa paused for a moment with a far off look of regret in her eyes. What she said next nearly broke Ferb's heart. "I don't know. Maybe I somehow deserved it. It took only a second before Ferb responded with a reassuring squeeze of the hand before saying, "No. There is no way on earth or in heaven that you deserved **any** of that. **He** was the one with issues. I can't imagine there being anything you could have done that would warrant him to hurt you. I don't care if you **had** bloody cheated on him. A man, a **real** man, should **never** lay a hand on a woman except in love. A man's job is to protect the woman he cares about. He should have been **protecting** you." "Like you did?", Vanessa finally said. Ferb gave a warm smile before saying, "Yes. Like I did."

After a bit of silence, Ferb said, "So. If you don't mind my asking, what happened today?" "Oh that?", Vanessa said, "I had gone over to Johnny's apartment to surprise him with a couple tickets I had managed to snag for a concert we had wanted to go to. When I got walked in, I saw him making out with another girl. To be honest, I'm not sure what was worse. The fact that said girl was supposed to be my best friend. Or, the fact that if I so much as **look** at a guy, Johnny accuses me of cheating and yet he'll do something like that! I mean, **we** never even made out. Yea, we kissed. But I just wanted to be careful that things never went too far. I know it may sound silly, but I always wanted to save **"It"** for marriage." Ferb at her. "I don't think it's silly at all," he said with a smile.

Vanessa smiled in return before continuing. "But yea, when I caught him cheating on me, I ran to my car and drove home crying. When I got home, I made a decision. I would finally break up with him. For good. But, as you and I both know, that was easier said than done." As her last few words were spoken, Vanessa's voice had dropped to that of just above a whisper as she looked down at Ferb's hand in hers, her expression somber as a single tear escaped her eye and fell gently down her face. Ferb leaned over as best as he could and, using his free hand, gently wiped away the tear from Vanessa's face. Ferb wanted now more than ever to take Vanessa into his arms and tell her how much he loved her. Tell her how far he'd be willing to go to protect her. Tell her that everything would be ok. But he couldn't. Not because of the cords and tubes that were running from his body into various machines. No. After everything that had happened the previous day, Ferb felt that it would be better if he gave her some time to get her life back to normal first. Then he'd give her his confession. In the meantime, however, he would continue to support her as best as he could.

And so the two continued to sit together, unsure at first as to what they would talk about until they could hear a few light taps of rain on the window panes, which gave them something of a conversation starter. Not an interesting one, mind you. But at least it was something. Vanessa began to tell Ferb about how much she loved the rain. How she used to run around in it as a child, letting it wipe away her worries about her parents and both their fighting and then eventual divorce. How even now that she was an adult, she liked to stand in the rain. Ferb listened to her as he smiled, occasionally nodding or throwing in his two cents for good measure. Their conversation continued to jump from one topic to another until just a little before 4:00 AM when Ferb and Vanessa finally fell back asleep, hands still entwined, with smiles on both of their faces.


End file.
